


Foul

by thecarlysutra



Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-31
Updated: 2007-07-31
Packaged: 2017-10-12 17:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/127194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecarlysutra/pseuds/thecarlysutra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Bones is . . . very literal."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Foul

  
"I need you to tell me about this baseball thing."

Booth looks pleased, which is frankly not the reaction Brennan was expecting.

"That's a good thing to know about, Bones. It's our national pastime."

Brennan frowns. "Okay . . . You know, Booth, Americans didn't exactly invent—"

"But we made it our own! Just . . . let's be nice to America, okay? All right. Now, here's the basics: there are nine men to a team. The players are divided into the infield team and the outfield team, which sounds complicated, but it's not. Actually, it's a little complicated—there can be a lot of math involved, with each player's RBI and . . . you know, that can only be an incentive for you, huh, Bones? You can take a calculator to the game."

Brennan shifts her gaze, as though she suspects someone is eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Booth, I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be using a calculator—"

Booth rolls his eyes. "Right. You can probably do it all in your head."

A smile blooms over Brennan's face. "Well . . . not all of it . . . I mean, isn't the point, you know, the physicality of it?"

Booth smiles and claps his hands for emphasis. "That's right, Bones! That's the spirit."

"Keep explaining this to me. I'm interested."

"Great! Okay, there are nine innings. Innings are broken up into two halves so that each team gets a chance to play with the same odds. In baseball, the defense always has the ball, which is different from most other sports – but it's an _American_ thing to do, Bones, rooting for the underdog, giving the little guy a hand – and—"

Brennan blinks. "What are you talking about?"

". . . baseball. You know, guys with bats and tight pants—"

"You think I don't know what baseball is?"

Booth is dumbfounded. "But . . . you asked . . ."

"No! I want to know about that thing with the bases, how that works."

Booth stares, silent, until Brennan elaborates.

"Like . . . Hodgins said this morning that Zack had never gotten to second base, and I know they weren't talking about, you know, the actual sport, but the nuances of the analogy are lost on me—"

The color blanches from Booth's face and he quietly, quickly, leaves the room.

Brennan hurries after him.

"But Booth—"

He doesn't even turn; it's possible that he picks up the pace a bit.

"No! Not—not in a million . . . you know what, not ever!" His voice falls to a low grumble, but Brennan – with the fabulous acoustics of the MedicoLegal lab – can still hear him. "Geez, you think you can have one normal conversation with a person, just one . . . always bites you, _always_ . . ."

Brennan sighs and lets him go. Maybe it's better that she doesn't understand these things.  



End file.
